Balance
by LimitlessLion
Summary: Another day at the garage, an irate but ultimately foolish customer and a date with the attractive guy who lives over the road... What?


[ Characters belong to Squeenix. Drabble from my tumblr, based on my mechanic!cloud au rp account. ]

Balance

There was nothing quite like the low hum of machinery, the clang of metal parts ringing or the buzz of one power tool or another being used. They were the expected sounds of a garage and were reassuring in the way that the sound of an engine was reassuring, that everything was working as it should.

That comforting, normal background noise was suddenly shattered by an irritated shout.

"How is it my fault that it looks stupid?! You wanted bigger pipes on a bike that can't support them, I just did what you told me to do!"

"It wouldn't look like this if you'd done it properly!"

"What in all the hells were you expecting it to look like? The pipes you ordered were enormous!"

There was a pregnant pause where all sounds in the garage slowly stopped, customers and colleagues alike stopping to see what all the commotion was about. Someone kicking off in the forecourt was unusual, especially when the owner and lead mechanic was renowned for being a nice guy who brooked no misbehaviour in his workplace.

More the surprise then that it was said nice guy owner and lead mechanic who was in the shouting match with the customer.

"I can't drive it home like this!"

"No, it's not roadworthy anymore."

"If you'd done your job properly-"

"I DID my job! I warned you that the pipes were too big but you went ahead and ordered them anyway! If you want them taken off, you'll have to pay for more labour costs while I put the old ones back on!"

There was another pause, this one laden with tension. The irate customer stood there, shaking subtly in anger as the shorter blond stood there in his greasy mechanic's jumpsuit and stared the dark-haired wannabe biker down. There was a collective holding of breath as the man raised his arm as if to strike the smaller male before he dropped his arm and turned abruptly on the spot before stalking off the forecourt and out onto the street.

As soon as he was gone, the blond turned on the other mechanics and levelled a glare at his receptionist in the small front-of-house reception area through the window overlooking part of the work area. "What are you staring at? Get back to work," he ordered in a much more even tone, one that the others knew was probably even scarier than the raised voice he'd used with the customer.

The low hum of work started back up again and the blond owner deflated a little, sighing and tucking the dirty rag back into his beltloop. Resisting the urge to wipe his brow given that his hands still shone with the grease that had helped ease the ridiculously large pipes onto the bike that was too small for them, Cloud took a deep, slow breath and turned to the two other mechanics who worked the garage with him, ordering the pair of them to move the monstrosity back into the workshop because the customer would be back later to pay for the pipes to be switched back to the original ones.

As soon as he'd relayed his order, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as if he was being watched. Turning on the spot, bright blue eyes scanned the garage, then the forecourt, then the reception and saw nothing. He was just about to return to work when something caught his eye and he focused in time to see the curtains in a window across the road fluttering as someone moved away from it.

Nosy neighbours.

Huffing in irritation, Cloud finally began to make his way over to the next task on his list and that was to simply replace the tyres on a well-used family car.

He'd just slid the jack under the car ready to lift it, since the hydraulic lift within the garage already had a car sitting atop it, he felt a presence behind him and looked up.

The man behind him was tall and broad in the shoulders, well-built in the way that Cloud's swimmer's physique would never be and even when Cloud straightened up with a carefully neutral expression, he only came up to the man's shoulders. No matter. It wasn't the first time he'd dealt with someone that much bigger than him.

"Can I help you?" he asked, with the politeness that was essential when dealing with customers. Couldn't even look at them the wrong way for fear of setting some of them off. He glanced over at the reception to see if maybe it was busy and the guy was trying to cut the queue but aside from his receptionist, the waiting room was empty so why…?

"Well I… Your argument…"

Cloud's arms folded and to the stranger's eyes, he looked a lot like he was mustering what little patience he had left over after earlier.

Starting again, the raven haired stranger held out a covered coffee cup bearing the name of the café over the road, the one below the window someone had been watching the outburst from.

"That guy seemed like a dick and I'm sure you get guys like him from time to time but I wanted to… offset his being a dick, I guess. There's a drop of milk, no sugar. I don't know how you like it," the raven announced, nodding down at the coffee.

Cloud was quiet for another long moment before he reached out to take the coffee. "Ah… thank you," he replied, slightly uncomfortable, slightly surprised and at a complete loss about what was going on. "This is fine… uh…?"

"Angeal. Angeal Hewley. I live above the coffee shop and overheard the argument," Angeal explained, shifting awkwardly on the spot.

"Angeal," Cloud repeated with a small nod, beginning to settle a little. He wiped a hand that was stained with spots of oil but dry on the side of his jumpsuit to get a little dirt off it before offering it to the raven who took it without hesitation. "Cloud Strife. I own Midgar Motors," he replied as they shook hands and he lifted the coffee to taste it, a little surprised at how good it tasted.

Angeal read the blond's expression then and smiled sheepishly. "Zack can make a mean cup of coffee. If you like it, maybe you'd join me for another…? Maybe after you've finished work?"

Cloud's brows rose and a small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he sipped again from the coffee. He glanced past the taller male in the direction of the café and canted his head slightly in thought. Another glance was spared for the reception, where there was a clock hung in sight through the window. "I close up at six, I can be there for half past?" he suggested, smirk widening as Angeal's eyes seemed to light up with a mix of happiness and relief.

"Perfect," Angeal replied cheerfully, taking a step back. "I can see that you're busy though, so I'll let you get back to work and see you later."

"Yeah, later," Cloud replied with a small huff of bemusement over the whole situation. He watched Angeal move back across the forecourt and then turned back to the car and the tyres he was replacing, shaking his head a little and setting his coffee within easy reach.

The day was only half over. What more could it possibly have in store for him?


End file.
